Even though Jocelyn seemed to be defending Daphne, she thought she heard a slight edge to her voice. As if she wondered why it hadn’t been left to her instead.
“So anyway,” Daphne led them through the kitchen, “if you’d like to join the others outside, we’ve put some lunch things out there. And the gardens look lovely.”
“Oh my!” Diane gasped, pointing to the apple green kitchen walls. “How can you stand that dreadful color, Daphne?”
Daphne shrugged again. “I find it lively and cheerful.”
“Poor Aunt Dee must be turning in her grave.”
“Mother!” Jocelyn shook her head. “Come on.”
“So . . . Martin’s not coming?” Daphne asked cautiously.
“Oh, he’ll be here,” Diane assured her. “He’s bringing a truck.”
Daphne just nodded. “After lunch, I plan to explain how this will work. I want to keep it fair so everyone gets a chance to get what’s important to them.”
As Daphne led them outside, Diane began inquiring about particular pieces of furniture, making it known that she had some specific items in mind. “I’d prefer to tell everyone how it’ll work at the same time,” Daphne said. “But please, help yourself to some food.”
Daphne returned to the house feeling the need to brace herself for whatever was coming—and it seemed certain a storm was brewing. She ran upstairs and barricaded herself in her peaceful bedroom and attempted to quiet her mind. Before she left, she said a quick prayer, asking God to grant healing to her fractured family. However, she suspected that was the same as asking for a miracle.
When she returned to the backyard, she could tell that some of her relatives, like Diane and her sister-in-law Marlene, were very suspicious of Daphne. But Daphne tried to act oblivious, going around and visiting with everyone as if nothing was wrong.
“You’re doing just fine,” Dad assured her as she refilled his cup with iced tea. “I expect before the day is done, you’ll have them eating out of your hand.”
“Or eating me for dessert.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”
She smiled, knowing he meant it. Dad would not let them take her down. Not without a fight. After Martin arrived, a full hour late, and after he grimly refused the food as if she’d laced it with cyanide, and after it seemed everyone else was done eating, Daphne announced it was time for everyone to “listen up.”
“I want to give you the details of the Grab and Go now,” she said as they quieted down. “And although I called it a Grab and Go, I hope no one gets in too much of a hurry. And I hope everyone will find something really special to remind them of our lovely Aunt Dee.”
“Yeah, now that it’s all picked over,” a male voice mumbled loud enough for her to hear him.
Daphne wasn’t sure who said it, but she decided not to ignore it. “I know that some of you don’t approve of the way Aunt Dee made her will. To be honest, I was as shocked as you all were to find out she made me sole inheritor. But it was Aunt Dee’s choice to do as she pleased with her estate. And I hope you’ll respect her right to do that.”
“We might respect it better if we knew why she did it,” Diane said loudly.
“It’s because Daphne was named after her,” Marlene said. “If my mom had named me Daphne, I’d probably have inherited it.”
“Well, it still seems unfair,” Marlene’s daughter Lori said. Lori was almost the same age as Daphne, but they’d never been very close. “I used to come over here several times a month to visit Aunt Dee.” She pointed at Daphne. “But you never did. After you moved to New York, you hardly ever came back.”
“Daphne’s job was demanding,” Dad told her. “Besides that has nothing to do with why Dee left her the estate.”
“Then why did she?” Martin demanded. “I’ve read over the will and I can’t find one reason why Dee would leave everything to Daphne.”
And suddenly everyone started speaking up and then they started arguing. Some seemed supportive of Aunt Dee’s right to do as she wished. Others, like Martin, refused to accept it. Daphne was trying to settle them down, but the more she raised her voice, the louder they seemed to become until she finally became concerned for her neighbors. If this kept up, she wouldn’t blame them for calling the police.
“That’s enough!” Dad yelled. “Everyone settle down right now.”
Fortunately, that seemed to work and the yard grew quiet.
“Daphne didn’t invite you over to fight. And Dee would be ashamed of how some of you are acting.”
“How else would she expect us to act?” Martin said. “Dee overlooked her entire family—her loved ones who’ve been by her side all these years—and instead chose her prodigal niece, the girl who ran off to New York City, to bestow her worldly goods upon. Why wouldn’t we take offense?”
“Are you saying Dee didn’t have the right to give Daphne her estate?”
“I’m saying I question whether or not Dee really did that.” Martin pointed a finger at Dad. “I question whether or not that was really Dee’s will.”
“What?” Dad’s face reddened. “What are you insinuating?”
“That something smells fishy and I intend to get to the bottom of it.”
“Dad!” Jocelyn shook her finger at her father. “You’ve gone too far now.”
“Not far enough,” he told her. “I happen to know that Dee was a very wealthy woman. Far wealthier than any of you can even imagine. Except for the two of you.” He pointed at Dad and Daphne. “I’ve almost got the whole thing figured out.”
“Figured out?” Suddenly Daphne was worried. Was he going to expose Dee for writing sleazy romance novels or being the creator of Dear Daphne?
“Your game,” Martin told her. “Rather your dad’s game. I suspect that even you don’t know all the details yet.”
“What details?” Daphne asked him.
“Never mind right now. I came here today to put a stop to your little giveaway party, Daphne.”
“But I—”
“You have no right to give away things that may not rightfully belong to you, young lady. And if you insist, I will see that everything is loaded into the moving truck parked down the street and put into storage.”
“Grandpa!” Mattie shook a fist. “Why are you being such a Grinch?”
His face softened. “For you, sweetie. It’s wrong that your cousin is taking everything when Dee’s will was clearly bogus. I plan to set it straight, once and for all, for everyone. I knew Dee as well as anyone here. And she never would’ve done something so selfish and divisive. This is the work of three selfish people. Don and Daphne and their lawyer, Jake McPheeters, have manufactured a false will.”
Everyone began to murmur again and Daphne felt tears coming, but she was determined not to cry. It was hard enough hearing such nasty accusations against her and Dad and Jake, but having everyone, including Jake’s daughter Jenna, witnessing this ugly scene and seeing their confused expressions. Well, it was so wrong!
“That is enough!” Dad shouted. Again the crowd quieted and Dad looked at Daphne as if to ask her something. She simply shrugged, wiping a renegade tear from her cheek before anyone noticed. Anything he could do to smooth this over was fine with her.
“I didn’t want to have to say this,” Dad said. “Out of respect for Dee, I planned to keep silent. But because of Martin’s foolish accusations here today, I feel I must defend Dee now.” He took in a deep breath. “Dee chose to give her entire estate to Daphne for one reason and one reason only. Daphne is Dee’s only grandchild.”
Daphne’s jaw dropped, and she could see by her relatives’ expressions that some were shocked and others were simply skeptical.
“You expect us to believe that?” Martin demanded. “We all know you’re Dee’s brother. How can Daphne be
—?”
“Dee was my mother,” Dad proclaimed. “And I am proud to say so. She was a wonderful woman and she brought more joy to my life, and to Daphne’s, than I even felt we deserved. I never realized she was my mother until she passed on. Then the facts came to light. However, I wanted to protect her image by keeping it between Daphne and me.” He pointed to Martin. “You forced me to divulge it.” Now Dad told everyone the same details she had told him a couple of weeks ago, explaining the circumstances and why Dee felt it was best to take this secret to her grave.
Dad looked up at the sky. “I hope you’ll forgive me,” he said quietly.
“Of course she will, Dad.” Daphne went over to stand by him, putting an arm around him. “So now you all know the truth. I hope you don’t think less of Aunt Dee.” She sighed. “Even though I know she was my grandmother, I still think of her as Aunt Dee. And if anyone here is still interested in taking something of hers home, I would like to explain how the Grab and Go is supposed to work.”
Everyone seemed to be listening politely—even Martin—as Daphne explained. “My helpers Jenna and Mattie are passing around envelopes, one for each of you. On the front of the envelope is your name and your ID number. Inside the envelope you will see that you have stickers, which also have your ID numbers. But beside the ID numbers are letters. A, B, C . . . and so forth. When it’s time for the Grab and Go to begin, you will be free to roam the front yard and porch, where you saw the larger items, and put a sticker on whatever it is you want. And there are also a lot of smaller items down in the basement to choose from.
“But you need to know that an item can have more than one sticker on it, but you also need to know that A stickers have the highest value and they will triumph over B stickers. And B stickers over C stickers. So take care with how you use them.” She asked if anyone had questions, and when it seemed they all understood how it worked, she announced that it was time to start. “We will let the bidding run for an hour. And then you can bring your purchases, either the items or the tags if it’s a large piece, to the dining room where the cashiers will check you out. Now, let the games begin. Just keep it civilized, please,” she yelled as some of the younger ones took off running. “And really there’s no hurry.”
Martin and Dad were the only ones left standing in the yard with her. Both men had their envelopes in hand, and both were looking down at the ground. She wasn’t surprised that Dad was in no hurry to Grab and Go since she’d already given him the items he wanted from Dee, but she was curious as to whether or not Martin would participate.
“Aren’t you going to go get some things?” she asked them.
Martin gave Daphne an uneasy look. “You still want me around here? After all I just said and did?”
She went forward to him. “I’m sure you were simply looking out for what you thought were the best interests for your children. Just like Aunt Dee, my grandmother, was looking out for her own.”
“I never would’ve guessed she was your mother,” he said to Dad. “But after you explained everything, well, it made sense. It all made sense.” He shook his head. “I hope you two can forgive me.”
They assured him they did.
“I know I’ve been accused of putting my foot in my mouth—more times than I care to admit—but I’m pretty sure I shoved in both feet this time. I’m sorry.”
Daphne patted him on the back. “Why don’t you go see if there’s anything you like. Maybe you and Diane should work together to make sure you don’t use your most valuable stickers on the same things.”
He tapped the side of his head. “I like your thinking.”
Dad chuckled after Martin left. “Well, this didn’t exactly turn out like you’d hoped. But who knows, maybe it was better this way. You think?”
She just nodded.
By the end of the Grab and Go, it seemed that everyone had gotten at least one or two, if not numerous, items that they really wanted. The cashiers in the dining room, Jenna and Daphne and Mattie, were kept busy for the next hour making sure that everyone had been treated fairly. But to Daphne’s delight, after the last of them left, nearly everything had been cleared out. What few things remained, she decided to stow in the basement for the time being.
“What will you do with these?” Jenna asked after they took the last load down.
Daphne shrugged. “Nothing for now.” She noticed Jenna looking longingly at a box covered with shells. It didn’t really seem like anything special, probably something Aunt Dee had picked up in her travels. “Would you like anything down here?” Daphne asked Jenna.
“Really?” Jenna’s eyes lit up.
“Absolutely. Both you girls, feel free to take anything you like from down here. Consider it your tip for your help today.” She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out two more envelopes. “And here is your pay.” She patted them on the backs. “Thanks. And don’t forget to turn off the lights down here when you’re done.” She let out a tired sigh as she went upstairs. “I am going to take a shower and put my feet up now.”
Walking through the calm and serene house, now peacefully vacated from her boisterous relatives, Daphne felt a deep sense of satisfaction. She paused by Aunt Dee’s bedroom door, and momentarily resting her hand on the glass knob, she experienced an unexpected rush of gratitude.
“Thank you, Grandmother,” she whispered. In the same instant, she remembered what Aunt Dee used to say to her. Four simple words of praise she would use after Daphne successfully completed a project. It could be for a cleaned bedroom, a good drawing, learning to sew on a button, baking cookies, or writing a poem. Aunt Dee would beam down at her and say: “Well done, dear girl!”
As she went up the stairs, those pleasant words echoed through Daphne’s soul once again.
Chapter 18
Daphne gave herself until Monday morning to go into Aunt Dee’s study. She wasn’t even sure why facing this room caused such trepidation. Perhaps it was just a remnant of her childhood experience when she’d accepted that this space was off-limits.
She’d grown up respecting that this was Aunt Dee’s workplace, a no-nonsense room where her aunt toiled over very serious textbooks and academic manuals and other “boring” things. And when Aunt Dee was working, it was Daphne’s job to occupy herself. To that end, Aunt Dee always made certain the house was stocked with crayons and craft materials, puzzles and books, as well as a full VHS selection of every Disney movie ever made.
She pushed open the door to her aunt’s study and was relieved to see the morning sunshine peeking through the slats of the dark wood blinds. The first thing she would do, after moving Aunt Dee’s computer to a safe spot, was take down those gloomy blinds and allow the sunlight to pour into this space. It took nearly an hour to get those stubborn dusty blinds down, and another to clean the windows. But seeing the dove gray room now washed in light gave Daphne hope.
After that, she gave the room a thorough cleaning, removing all the bric-a-brac and pictures and clutter until all surfaces were bare and the dark wood gleamed. She also thinned down the bookshelves, crating the books she felt she’d have no use for and making room for her own books. Although she was determined to get rid of most of her aunt’s things, she did save a few special items, including some old framed photos of her aunt and Dad and Daphne, as well as her aunt’s old black Underwood typewriter.
Surveying the room, Daphne reconsidered her earlier decision to have all the heavy wooden office furniture painted white or else removed. Seeing it like this, clean and clear and washed in light, she realized it was actually rather handsome—it had the look of a writerly room. Was writerly actually a word?
Finally she decided to roll up the dark Oriental carpet to reveal the wood floor beneath. Then she took out the office chair as well. Although it was in good shape and not a bad style, it felt too personal to reuse. The chair, like her aunt, was ready fo
r retirement. Then she spent another hour carefully going up and down the steep basement stairs as she transported all these things down there for the time being.
After a shower to remove the dust and grit she’d accumulated in the clean-out, she stood in front of the cleared-out office and looked on in satisfaction. The room had been truly transformed. Now all she needed was a new office chair and perhaps a lighter, brighter rug to soften it up. And maybe a table lamp and a few other things. Her first instinct was to call Olivia and ask her advice. But Daphne stopped herself. Olivia had coached Daphne enough that she felt she could handle this.
By the end of the day, Daphne, with the assistance of Dad and his pickup, had her new office completely set up. And she would no longer call it a study but an office.
“It looks good,” Dad said as Daphne turned on the desk light for effect.
“Thanks. I think I can work in here now.”
“You don’t feel like you’re in a fishbowl with all those bare windows?”
She shrugged. “I suppose if it were dark outside, I might. But I’ll just live with it for a while and see.”
“So, you’re ready to start writing that great American novel now?”
Daphne had almost forgotten that Dad didn’t know her real reason for wanting to transform this space. But, of course, he was still in the dark about Dear Daphne.
“Not quite ready,” she confessed. “I still need to go through the drawers and cabinets and storage spaces.”
“What will you do with all of it?”
“For now I’ll crate it and store it in the basement.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you’re not throwing everything away. Someday we might want to go through Dee’s old things and find out more about the books she wrote.”
Daphne just smiled. “Yes, maybe we will . . . someday.”
Dad excused himself, explaining it was bridge night at the country club and that Karen was waiting for him to pick her up. Daphne thanked him again and even told him to say hello to Karen for her. Okay, it wasn’t much, but at least she was trying. And she really didn’t want Dad to think she didn’t like his girlfriend. If Karen was his girlfriend.
Lock, Stock, and Over a Barrel Page 18